AMD Raises Q4 Guidance

Higher-than-expected demand for chips and Flash memory products is fueling the strong quarter.

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. on Thursday said it expects to fourth-quarter sales to come in at $700 million, a 35 percent jump over earlier projections from the chip maker.
AMD, of Sunnyvale, Calif., said higher-than-expected demand for PC processors and continued demand for Flash memory products, particularly in the high-end mobile phone arena, are fueling the strong fourth quarter. The company had projected $508 million in sales.

The companys announcement comes the same day that rival Intel Corp. is scheduled to give its midquarter guidance. That is set for later this afternoon.

AMD will report its fourth-quarter results Jan. 16.
The good news comes as AMD prepares to roll out its new Hammer line of 64-bit chips. The desktop chip, AMD Athlon 64formerly code-named Clawhammerand the server processor, code-named Opteron, are both expected to ship in the first half of 2003.
The company hopes the Hammer architecture will compete with Intels Itanium chips. A key differentiator, according to AMD officials, is that unlike Itanium, the Hammer chips will be backward compatible with 32-bit applications.
AMD also is trying to cut more than $300 million in expenses in 2003. Those reductions have included more than 4,300 job cuts.